Peru 2016: SPRING BREAK 2K16!!!

This post covers the last two weeks, which include midterms and spring break. A lot has happened lately so I tried to cover the important parts of each day.

Last week we had midterms, which all seemed to go fairly well. I also got to meet my host brother who has returned to Peru after studying in Spain. My family took me out to dinner the evening he arrived (Wednesday) and it was so great to get to talk to all of them as a family. I can already tell that I will get along with my host brother really well because he is so nice and kind of a goofball. I got to hang out with some of his friends that evening, and I did my best to understand what they were talking about. They were all really funny and I hope to get to hang out with them again. Later that evening I went out to Miraflores with one of my girl friends and we had an awesome time with two of our peruvian friends. They had gotten us onto a list at a nice club so we went there and danced for a few hours before returning home.

Thursday we all hoped on a bus for 18 hours to get to Mancora, which is one of the best beaches in Peru. We stayed there for 8 days and I tried a few things that I have never done before. The bus ride went really fast since we were in first class and could sleep and watch movies. When we got to Máncora we took motorcycle buggies (moto taxis) to our house about 7 kilometers away. Our house was gorgeous. We were pretty much right on the beach and we had a nice pool to swim in too. I ended up getting incredibly sunburned the very first day even though I put on a lot of sunscreen. It was painful for about 4 days but it is so much better now. We spent that evening drinking in our house, playing cards, and dancing on our balcony like a bunch of American girls.

Saturday morning we went out and swam in the ocean and then pool for a few hours. I was the weirdo wearing a T-shirt to avoid burning my sunburn, but it was still amazing. We then relaxed for the afternoon and then got ready to go out in Mancora. The clubs are right on the beach so we walked from club to club and had so much fun dancing and talking to people. Some of the guys there were really creepy, so I was glad that there were so many of us there to keep an eye out for each other. Overall it was a really fun night spent with the girls who have become some of my best friends.

Sunday afternoon we went back in to Mancora to eat lunch, buy groceries, and check out prices for surfing, snorkeling, and other day trips. We then came back home and cooked dinner, watched the sunset, and I swam while others watched the Superbowl. We had great plans to make American Superbowl food like hamburger and cheese chip dip, but we found that Velveeta does not exist here. So we had tacos, guacamole, and fruit salad instead. I found that some Peruvians knew more about the Superbowl than me, which wasn't hard because I didn't even know what teams were playing. But it was surprising that so many people were watching the game here.

Monday we spent the whole day on the beach. I sat under an umbrella not knowing if it was free or not and was told by a waitress that in order to sit under it we had to buy something. So I split a large beer with one of my friends and enjoyed watching surfers. We decided to ride a banana boat, which is a floaty that is pulled behind a jet ski. We all piled on and proceeded to be tossed around by the waves and praying that we didn't fall off. It was so fun and so miserable at the same time. On the way back in there were people taking pictures of us as we struggled to stay afloat and gracefully fall off back onto the beach. We then posed for a few pictures with random people as always and went to walk around and dry off. Later that evening a few of us ordered a few drinks by the ocean and met a big group of guys from Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador. They invited us to their hostel to swim in the rain so we joined them. We swam and tried to play some drinking games, which required us to speak in Spanish and was very difficult since we had to think quickly. Later we danced next to the pool to every kind of music such as salsa, reggae-tone, bachata, and meringue.

Tuesday a few of us met up with our friends at the beach to eat lunch and swim in the ocean before they had to leave. Even though we only knew them for a day, it was sad to say goodbye. I wish they lived in Lima because they were such genuine people and easy to talk to. After they left we went around to the shops and a man told us he loved us and told me my eyes were beautiful in a few different languages, so that was interesting. We then came back home and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday we went to Máncora to eat sushi, shop, and walk by the beach. This was my first time eating Peruvian sushi and I was not disappointed. I could eat sushi, ceviche, and seafood for every meal. When we came home we swam in our pool and met a guy who lives in Lima and goes to UPC (our university here)! So we invited him and his brother over to play cards and eat pizza. We then went to bed early so we could get up early the next morning.

Thursday I got up early and went scuba diving for the first time in my life. It was scary and amazing at the same time. I thought we were going to learn how to dive in a pool before going to the ocean, but we were taken out to an oil rig pretty far out into the ocean right away. There were sea lions crawling on the oil rig, which was crazy to watch since they are so big and use their fins like hands and legs. I spent about 15 minutes trying to get my wet suit on and my arms were exhausted by the time I finally got it on right. My guide then strapped on my flippers, face mask, and air tank and told me to flip backwards into the water. He told me to put my face in the water and practice breathing while the others got ready. Even though only my face was in the water my heart was racing and I was breathing so fast. I eventually got used to it and we all got ready to dive. We gradually lowered ourselves down a rope, pinching our noses and trying to continually pop our ears. We dove down about 30 or 40 feet and swam between schools of fish. My ears hurt a lot of the time because it was hard to equalize the pressure, but it was so worth it. The current was strong and our guide had to grab my arm a few times to keep me from floating away. I got scared when we got down to the lowest spot and started hyperventilating a little bit, but I took a few deep slow breaths and calmed myself down. My guide took my hand and drug me down to see an octopus that was wrapped up on one of the logs from the oil rig. It's eyes stared at me and it was amazing to watch. After about 25 minutes we headed back up to the boat. It felt so good to breathe normally again and to take of that wet suit. When we returned to shore we helped unload the boat before heading back home to shower and eat some cheeseburgers. That night I went out with two of my friends and we had a great time eating and on the beach even though there were a lot of creepy guys out once again.

The next morning I got up, ate the 20th PB&J of the trip, and went on an all day tour of different beaches around Máncora. I got a little sunburned of course, but it was a pretty relaxing day. It wasn't exactly what we had envisioned, but I enjoyed sleeping on the bus and laying by the beach. We visited an island with a little crocodile zoo on it and then we headed back home, ordered some pizza from a food stand, and went home to sleep after a very long day.

Saturday morning I got up early again and went to Máncora to surf! I have never surfed before so it was quite the experience. My instructor made me lay down on a surfboard he had drawn in the sand for about 10 minutes to practice getting up gracefully. He then made me stretch, strapped my surfboard to my ankle, and took me out into the waves. The most tiring part of surfing is getting out to the big waves after each ride in to shore. I would lay on the board and paddle with my arms while my instructor grabbed onto the back of the board and paddled with his flippers. When we got to a good wave he would yell at me to "paddle paddle paddle!" and then when we were on top of the wave he would yell at me to stand up. Once I was planted on the board he would let go and let me ride the wave in. In my hour-long lesson I caught 6 or 7 waves and even got to touch a sea turtle who was swimming next to me. It was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to have one of my peruvian friends take me surfing with him again. Later that afternoon we got back on our bus and headed back to Lima. The ride went very quickly and it is so great to be home now. I missed my host family and eating my mom's wonderful food. I am not ready for classes to begin again, but I am excited to see my peruvian friends and focus on Spanish once again.

I hope all is well back in the US! Sending love and kisses to everyone back home (especially baby Jade who has grown so much in the month and a half I have been gone).